Max, the streamer formerly known as HBO Max, has always claimed to be “the one to watch,” and for fans of genre storytelling, this has been more or less true. After a big launch tied to the heavily anticipated Snyder Cut of The Justice League, Max did everything it could to claim the genre throne.
But Max’s focus shifted over time. Its merger with the Discovery+ streaming service seemed to put a new emphasis on reality show sludge, especially since sci-fi hits like Westworld were removed from the service entirely. A bombastic 2024-25 slate could, however, signal a return to form. A teaser for the coming year has given us a look at the return of House of the Dragon, two movie spinoffs, and a spooky detective drama.
House of the Dragon is clearly the 2024 headliner, but other projects harken back to Max’s genre roots. True Detective: Night Country tells an eerie Alaskan murder story, while The Penguin takes Colin Farrell’s role in The Batman and expands it into a crime drama.
Even Max’s new series are sticking to the platform’s genre roots, from Park-Chan Wook’s espionage thriller starring Robert Downey Jr., The Sympathizer, to Sam Mendes and Armando Iannucci’s The Franchise, a comedy series set within the production of a superhero movie. This trend will continue in 2025, with It prequel series Welcome to Derry and Season 2 of the highly-acclaimed The Last of Us.
This is the course correction Max desperately needed. Being known as the home of Game of Thrones and its spinoffs is what sells subscriptions, not being the place to catch Milf Manor and “the 90 Day Fiancé Universe.” While the streamer will still introduce new reality series in the coming years, it’s clear the emphasis lies with genre projects. Max built its reputation on award-winning genre shows, and now it needs to prove it hasn’t lost sight of what works. This teaser, at least, is a good first step.
